April 29th, 2015

Recently, I’ve received USFWS responses to our FOIA Requests regarding the Black Oak and Getty wind projects, and there’s a LOT, and I don’t think that it’s made its way into either the Certificate of Need or Siting dockets at the Public Utilities Commission.

April 28th, 2015

The Senate Energy Omnibus Bill with the offensive special legislation for Geronimo is moving forward with great stealth. It’s the language that would end the 7 year time limit for wind easement contracts. That language is hidden in the bill in the words, “Laws 2008, chapter 296, article 1, section 25, as amended.”

How would anyone know what that means? It’s hidden in the footnote to Minn. Stat. 500.30:

In the Senate, the more specific language is stalled out because the Senate Energy Omnibus bill is stalled out… but in the meantime, HF 843 has passed out of the house and moved over to the Senate and is moving forward there. The Senate took it in as passed in the House, and it marches onward, now just needing that 3rd reading.

DELETE THIS SECTION OF HF 843!

The words to look for in the bill are in the intro:

Laws 2008, chapter 296, article 1, section 25, as amended;

And the specific language that needs to be deleted is on p. 147:

DELETE THIS SECTION OF HF 843!

Contact all Senators today and tell them to delete this special legislation for Geronimo.

April 28th, 2015

I really don’t know how to deal with our inability, our refusal, to deal with the systemic problems in this country. In the 50 years that I’ve been aware that there’s no “liberty and justice for all,” not much has changed…

April 27th, 2015

The long awaited moment has arrived — the substantive review by DOE of the Plains & Eastern UnClean Line is now public. Remember, there are NO RULES, this is uncharted territory, they’ve not done anything like this before!

There’s a lot of stuff here — this is cut and pasted from the DOE SITE, and downloading will take a while:

Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Line – Part 2 Application

Non-NEPA Review (1222 Review): In addition to conducting a NEPA review of the proposed Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Line project, DOE will also conduct due diligence on non-NEPA factors such as the project’s technical and financial feasibility and whether the project is in the public interest. DOE will conduct a thorough review that includes making all required statutory findings and will consider all criteria listed in Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as well as all factors included in DOE’s 2010 Request for Proposals.

In December 2014, DOE requested additional information from the applicant to supplement and update its original application. The updated Part 2 application and other documentation are now available below for a 45-day public comment period. The public comment period begins on April 28, 2015, the date the Notice of Availability is published in the Federal Register, and will close on June 12, 2015. DOE is accepting comments on whether the proposed project meets the statutory criteria listed in Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as well as all factors included in DOE’s 2010 Request for Proposals. All comments submitted during either comment period will be considered in the DOE’s ultimate decision as to whether to participate in the proposed project under the Section 1222 Program. Therefore, comments submitted during the NEPA public comment period do not need to be re-submitted during the 1222 public comment period, regardless of the subject discussed in the comments.

Some appendices have been redacted to protect privileged or confidential business information.

April 26th, 2015

Bill Howley died yesterday.

Bill Howley is known by anyone working in opposition to transmission projects. Due to a transmission line proposed in his community, he learned pretty much everything there is to know about transmission, wrote about it faithfully and fearlessly for years, and became an expert on advocacy, economics and technology of all things electrical. He’s one of the first resources people would turn to when they first learned of transmission projects. Recently, he’d taken the position of Program Director for WV SUN.

Bill Howley’s blog, since 2008 — take a few minutes to get an idea of the depth of his work. Here’s hoping that his family will keep this blog going in perpetuity, a memorial to his work and as a guiding light for all those who are dealing with transmission projects: